Crystals of Destiny
by AuraKani
Summary: After the battle with the Sons of Garmadon, all is peaceful. Garmadon has returned to his normal self and joins with the ninja on what would seem like their final battle for the end of time. Contains S8 spoilers.
1. Nightmares

Ninjago city melted away, fallen victim to the impending darkness. Plumes of dark matter swallowed the sky as their faces melted away to become gray, with emotionless purple eyes. I could see everything that was happening. Ever since, the city hasn't really caught a break.

The vision melts away into a smoking beach and a giant machine with its cannon aiming toward Ninjago. The dark island. I can still remember everything as if it happened yesterday.

His dark, grotesque face and burning purple eyes. Possessing my father into a supernatural monster. I remember being stuck in his dark purple ring, screaming in agony as the dark tendrils closed in, my friends and family powerless to help. Then he came back in the form of a virus, more powerful than ever. My father's face flashing as we were pulled away from each other, me on the Nindroid dragon and him into the ocean. I was in some sort of tube, trying to bear the excruciating pain as my powers were slowly stripped away.

And then it was Chen, who stole everyone's powers. He challenged me to a fight but already had everyone's powers against just mine. He used my powers against me and it wasn't long until I crashed into the wall, my chest on fire and struggling to recover from being hit with my own energy beam. Then, I was shackled hand and foot in vengestone and put in a cell. Again.

I wake up in cold sweat and realize that it's the middle of the night.

"Lloyd?" I hear my father's voice. "

"I'm fine," I answer. "Just another nightmare."

"You've been having those a lot lately. What exactly do you see in them?"

I crawl over to his bed. "It's always the worst memories. The most painful ones. Like when I had my powers stripped."

"Is it the same every time?"

"No, not really. They're just the worst memories." I'm secretly wondering what could be the cause, but I don't tell Garmadon. I don't think he would really have an explanation either.


	2. The Attack

"Guys! There's something seriously wrong with the sky!" I hear Jay screaming. We all rush over to the window. There's a big black cloud over the city.

"I don't think that's the Overlord," Kai tells Jay without looking up from his phone, where he's updating his social media account.

"How is it not?" Jay yells. "That looks like the Garmatron just shot a cannonball over the city!"

"Someone turn on the TV," Nya says.

Cole and Jay both make a mad dash toward the remote, but Zane reaches it before them and turns on the TV. Sure enough, there's a frightened news reporter standing in the TV news building.

"Scientists are yet to pinpoint the cause of this giant cloud of darkness, but citizens are advised to take shelter . . ." That's when a giant rock drops from the sky. It hits the building next to it and the window next to the reporter shatters. She screams and the screen lets out a burst a static.

Some sort of portal opens above Ninjago city and a giant ship comes out.

"Now what the heck is that?!" Jay screams. "It's a UFO!" He grabs Kai's phone and snaps a picture.

Actually, ship might be an understatement. It's completely metal and it's dark hull doesn't reflect anything. "I don't think the Bounty would stand a chance against that," Cole says.

"It looks like it just came through a portal." Kai remarks. "You think it could be from another realm or something?"

"I don't know." Cole answers. "But the realm crystal was destroyed aboard the Misfortune's Keep, which is the only way to travel between realms. This is something else."

"Hey, that never happened," Jay says. "Remember? So the realm crystal isn't destroyed. It's supposed to be protected in the chamber by Borg's security nindroids!"

"Well how are we going to get rid of that thing without the Bounty? It's wooden hull wouldn't stand several hits from their cannons!" Cole points at the imposing cannons jutting out from both sides of the ship.

"We must protect the people," my father says just as one of the cannons fires. It destroys an entire block. "But we must stay out of sight."

"Let's go," says Kai, putting on his ninja mask.

"Woohoo!" Screams Jay as he jumps out the window and summons his dragon.

"Not so loud!" Wu tells him, though I don't think Jay cares. "And stay low!"

We approach the city on our dragons, then take cover behind some trash cans.

"This smells horrible," Jay complains.

"Pixal, I need a danger analysis," Zane tells her. Pixal scans the area with her computer vision.

"There are groups of them around the city," She says.

"Groups of what?!" Jay asks.

"We should stay together," my father says.

The deeper into the city we go, the more chaotic it gets. The warship is right above the news building.

"There's so many of them!" Jay complains.

"Keep fighting!" Kai yells.

I backflip over one of their soldiers and kick him into a wall. There's a whole bunch charging so I create an energy shield and blast them all away.

"Ninjaaaa-gooo!" Jay screams. We all do spinjitzu to clear a path toward the building.

"Why are there so many of them near the TV building?" Jay asks.

"There's more on the roof!" Zane points at more of their warriors before I can think of an answer.

But it's a bit too late. They half jump and half fly down to us. These are much more powerful, and it's easier to tell. The armor is much more sophisticated, and they're much taller.

One of them lands on my chest and pins me to the ground. I gasp in pain and summon an energy ball to blast him away but he merely stumbles backward a few steps.

The other ninja are struggling to fend off the rest of them. Kai stabs one in the neck and black blood spurts out onto the ground. Jay accidentally steps on the puddle.

"Yuck!" He glares softly at Kai. "You could've warned me!"

I duck under his giant blade that's glowing with black fire and jump, then unsheathe my sword in midair and jam it into his shoulder. He roars and goes down. I jump down to avoid being crushed.

"Why are they even attacking for no reason?!" Jay screams.

"I don't know!" I yell at him as I hear a dagger whiz past my face.

I create another energy shield to shield me and Cole from being crushed with one of the flaming swords, but when it hits my shield, I feel the the fire is so strong that I struggle to maintain it. My shield disappears and me and Cole roll in opposite directions, but I'm not nearly fast enough and the tip of the blade slices a deep gash in my side. I scream and crash into the wall.

"Lloyd!" I hear my father yell. A blast of purple light makes the warrior stumble away as he rushes over.

"Look out!" I point behind him. A warrior is bearing down on him. He ducks as another grabs me by the neck.

"Nooooo! Lloyd!" He screams.

I pry at his fingers but they won't budge. I summon a weak ball of energy and blast it at him, but his armor deflects it and sends it right back at me. An intense pain shoots through my chest as the energy beam reflects.

"You need to concentrate!" I hear Wu yell.

I start generating another energy ball but lose my focus. He squeezes tighter and black spots cloud the edges of my vision. I can't breathe, let alone focus.

"Let him go!" Zane yells as he freezes his feet to the ground. The warrior growls and tries to move his feet to no avail. Cole then blasts the ice away and it loses its balance and tosses me into the wall. I drop to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Lloyd!" Garmadon runs over and embraces me.

"We need to get out of here!" Nya yells as she blasts a warrior with a ball of water.

"Go where?" One of them asks in a guttural tone that I can barely understand. The cannons of the warship swivel around and are pointing right at us. "We already have half the realms on our side!"

Half the realms? I think. For what cause?

"Ice!" Zane yells as he freezes the cannons.

"That won't stop the cannons for long!" Cole warns. He summons his dragon and jumps on.

"Garmadon, look out!" Pixal yells.

We look up just as the hilt of one of the swords slams into my jaw and I collapse against Garmadon, then black out.

* * *

I wake up and take a rasping breath. I'm on my bed in Garmadon's monastery. Every breath feels like rolling around on broken glass.

"You're awake," He breathes a sigh of relief. He gestures toward a cup of tea.

I prop myself onto my elbow and take a sip. My jaw hurts from where I was knocked out.

"Do you think you can heal yourself?" He asks.

"I don't know," I answer. I still feel a bit lightheaded, and aside from that I feel that I have a broken rib.

Garmadon closes the door. "It's worth a try. The others are still very worried."

I realize that there isn't any noise coming from outside. Jay isn't screaming or playing video games, and Cole isn't listening to music either.

I brace myself and press one hand to my side. A bright glow emanates from my hand and I scream in agony as the cut starts closing up. That's the thing I don't like about my healing, it takes double the pain that the injury was caused. The cut closes up and I release my hand, breathing hard.

Next, I press my hand against my jaw, where I was struck with the sword and concentrate. The pain is so intense and I fight the urge to take off my hand but I don't.

I relax when the pain goes away. "I'm fine," I tell Garmadon as I take another sip of one of Wu's healing teas.

"Now, let's go. We have a lot to discuss." I follow my father into the main room where the others are waiting.

"Who were those people?!" Jay bursts out. "Are they from another realm? What do they want? Why would they randomly attack the city? Why were they going for us?"

"Slow down," Wu says, calm as usual.

"There is a lot we do not know," says Misako. "But it is certain that they are from another realm. I think it's the realm of darkness, but I'm not sure. But not only do we need the realm crystal to cross over, but we also must sail through the River of Night."

"Wait a minute," I say. "One of them said that they already had half the realms on their side . . ."  
A grin splits across Jay's face.

"So we should get the other half," Nya finishes. "We need to rest up. We have a journey to make."

"But what about the Bounty? Don't we need to upgrade it or something?" Jay asks.

"We'll do that tomorrow," Nya agrees.


	3. The River of Night

"You okay?" Garmadon asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "Just tired."

I fall asleep. And open my eyes. There is a dark river with churning black water lapping at the banks. Could this be the River of Night that Misako mentioned? It looks dark as night. I gasp when I see my father's body strewn on the banks of the river. I run over but a large black figure blocks me. It's kind of like a shadow but it's solid, and I can't get to Garmadon.

"The green ninja," I hear a hissing voice.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"So much you don't know," The voice hisses again. It makes another guttural hissing noise that sends a cold chill up my spine. I think it's supposed to be a laugh. "Your world is so close to ending but you don't even know . . ."

I create an energy ball and blast it at him but it's somehow absorbed.

"Your attempts are futile! And I've had years to prepare for this . . ."

I wake up with a gasp and realize that it's morning. The sunlight is streaming in through my window and I smell the aroma of Zane making breakfast.

"Another nightmare?" Garmadon asks.

"Yes," I sigh.

"Your father told me you had another nightmare," Misako says as we sit down for breakfast.

"Mom, I saw this black river . . . is it the River of Night that you were talking about?"

"It could be," she says.

I remember seeing Garmadon's body on the banks of the river and start to tear up.

"What else did you see . . .?" Misako doesn't get to finish the sentence. I run to my room and close the door. I open the closet where I keep some childhood memories and photo albums. I take out the green blanket that I had ever since I was five years old and hug it. It's not even that soft anymore but I don't really care.

Garmadon comes into the room and sits down next to me.

"What else did you see in the dream?" He asks tentatively.

"I saw . . . your body on the banks of a dark river . . . and when I tried to reach you, a black sort of spirit blocked me," I wipe away my tears.

Garmadon is silent for a moment.

"Do you think it's going to happen?" I ask. "W-What if we can't prevent what's coming?"

My father sighs. "We don't even know if these dreams have any significance. But that spirit thing seems like some sort of villian. Come now, we have work to do."

I follow Garmadon into another room of his monastery where Wu and Misako are pondering over her scrolls of research. She's collected a lot over the years.

"I think we need to find these crystals," Misako says.

"What crystals?" Asks Jay.

"These seven crystals," she says, pointing to the scroll.

"It looks like something big happens when they unite," Cole observes.

"Speaking of big, something big is coming right toward us!" Nya shouts, and points at a hulking metal ship. "I haven't had enough time to repair the Bounty, so we'll need to fight," she says.

Garmadon puts a hand on my shoulder. "Stay safe, son," he says.

"You too," I say.

I'm running out the door when I see a massive footprint in the dirt. It's pointing into Garmadon's monastery. But there are no footprints leading out. I realize with a cold chill of terror that whoever went in . . . . must still be inside.

"Zane!" I call. "Can you scan this?"

Zane scans the footprint with his computer vision. "Judging from the depth of the tracks, these were made approximately thirty minutes ago," Pixal tells Zane.

"They've infiltrated the monastery!" Kai yells.

"Zane and Pixal, you need to find and get rid of this mole," my father says. "The rest of us, get with the fight."

"Well good morning . . ." Kai tells the soldiers who are charging toward us. They have pale skin and are covered head to toe in black armor. "You seem a bit cold," He taunts. "But don't worry, because I'll cure you fever . . . FIYAAAHHHH!"

The nearest group of soldiers gets totally incinerated. They even burst into ash.

"Yuck," Jay complains as he spits some of the stuff out. "It tastes even worse than Cole's cooking!"

Cole shoots him an annoyed glare.

"Jay! Try to take down their ship!" I yell at him.

"On it!" he answers. "Lightning!"

The bolt of lightning zips toward the ship but stops just before, then disappears into bright, fizzing sparks.

"Not fair!" Jay yells at the ship. "You're cheating!"

"It seems like there is some sort of electromagnetic force field surrounding the ship," Pixal tells Zane. "But it is interfering with my analysis functions and scrambling my scanning signal."

"Did you locate the spy?" Wu asks anxiously.

"No, Sensei," Pixal tells him.

"We'd better find it fast!" Zane says. He and Pixal rush back into the monastery.

A group of the soldiers is charging at me and Garmadon. I create an energy shield. They draw their black-flame swords and swing it at the shield. I grit my teeth and push harder, then blast them away. The swords fly out of their hands and clatter onto the ground. Then, they each take out a cylinder-shaped gray tube and press a button on top. The trigger.

"Watch out!" Nya shouts.

I roll forward as the bullet whizzes past my head and hits the monastery. Part of the wall collapses and it starts a fire. The fire is near the top floor, close to the roof where the Bounty is parked.

"Nya! Put out the flames! If the Bounty gets destroyed, we'll have no escape! We'll be sitting ducks out here!

Jay snorts. "Uh, ducks can fly, Cole," he says, trying to suppress a fit of giggles. I don't really get why he finds pretty much everything to be so funny.

"We have found the spy," I hear Pixal say. She and Zane come out dragging a lean soldier, who is growling angrily.

"How about we combine our elemental powers?" Kai suggests.

"It's worth a try," Cole agrees.

"Earth!"

"Fire!"

"Ice!"

"Lightning!"

"Water!"

"Energy!"

The blazing beam of light strikes the air around the ship, and the dark, glowing force field becomes visible.

"Keep pushing!" I yell, clenching my teeth.

"I'm . . . not strong enough!" Cole answers.

"This clearly isn't working," Jay says. The force field lets out a giant black flare and our beam sputters out. I groan as I'm slammed into the smoking wall of the monastery.

That's when all the soldiers simultaneously turn around, then fly up toward the ship.

"Not so fast," Kai says as he catches one by the leg and pulls him down. Zane then freezes him into a solid block of ice.

"How did they pass right through the force field?" Jay asks.

"I don't know," Misako answers.

A swirling portal appears above the ship, which then flies into it. In the brief moments that the portal is open, I get a brief glimpse of what's inside.

My heart skips a beat as I see a dark river flowing.

"The River of Night!" Misako exclaims. "That must be the way to cross over to their home realm!"

"So if we want to follow them, then we'll need to sail through that river," Nya concludes. "I don't really like the idea though. We're going to need to upgrade the Bounty if we want to stand a chance."

"You mean like, put on armor or something?" Kai asks.

"I know just the thing," she answers. "Chronosteel."


	4. Upgrades!

"Chronosteel?" asks Jay. "What the heck is that?"

"Chronosteel is an incredibly strong material, forged with all the elements, but most importantly, fire and water," Garmadon explains.

Kai and Nya look at eachother.

"We should get some rest." Misako says. "Forging enough Chronosteel for the Bounty is very difficult."

"Yeah," I agree. "We'll start tomorrow."

* * *

"So, how exactly do we make this stuff?" Jay asks. "Is it indestructible?"

"We first need plenty of steel," Misako says. "Then, we'll need some . . . other resources."

We get a large piece of steel and set to work behind the monastery. Zane is helping Pixal install hidden security cameras around the monastery.

Misako informs us more about the six crystals that we need to collect.

Cole and Jay are strengthening the steel by fusing their powers together.

"How much more of this will we need to do to make it Chronosteel?" Jay says.

"You will know when it is finished," Garmadon says.

"What next?" Asks Cole.

"We'll need energy, then we need to soak it in Ethereal Steam," Misako says.

"What's Ether-what Steam?" Jay asks.

"Ethereal Steam." Misako explains. "A powerful vapor created by the fusion of fire and water."

I kneel down beside the piece of steel and press both palms onto it. A bright green glow emanates. I feel the material getting stronger, but not strong enough.

"It's not working!" Jay yells.

I press my palms into the steel even harder, then remember that Wu once said concentrating harder doesn't always mean more force, but more intensity. I channel my energy and squeeze my eyes shut.

Finally, I feel it. The first stage is complete. I don't know how I know but I just do. The steel lets out a bright ray of light and I'm blinded for a moment. I'm blasted backwards and Misako catches me in her arms.

"Where are Kai and Nya?" Cole asks.

"We finished!" I hear Kai yell. I see him and Nya come over with a large sealed beaker the size of a tub that's fuming with Ethereal Steam.

"Ok," says Misako. "Now we must unseal the beaker and quickly drop in the piece, then shut it. Every bit of steam is needed."

Kai and Nya quickly unscrew the giant lid. Cole picks up the piece of steel and dunks it in the beaker, then Kai slams it shut.

"It's working!" Nya exclaims. The beaker sparks and fumes with hissing steam. Then, it bursts and the Chronosteel comes out.

"Uh, was that supposed to happen?" Jay asks.

"It worked," Nya says. We put on the first piece of steel on the hull.

"We should test it," Misako suggests.

I summon an intense energy ball and blast it at the spot. Not a dent.

"It worked!" Kai says.

We're finished with the whole thing in a week.

"Not only the Bounty is stronger, but it also looks so cool!" Jay says as we admire our work. The entire hull, deck, roof, and cannons are coated with gleaming Chronosteel.

"Come on, guys, let's go train," says Zane as we follow Wu into the backyard. There is a river flowing through it.

"Wait, where did he go?" Nya asks. Wu is gone.

"I think today's lesson is in the river," Zane says.

We all look at each other, then jump in. The water is cool, and I spot Sensei at the bottom. I don't know how he drinks tea underwater. After a minute or two, he looks past Jay. I see Jay pointing frantically to the left. There's a giant black octopus. Did Sensei put that there on purpose? It's tentacles catch us all of us except for me, Nya, and Sensei, who is still calmly drinking his tea.

I gesture at the water. Nya nods, then summons a huge wave and makes it slam into the octopus. It drops Zane but nobody else. I start generating an energy ball but the tentacle is too fast and it catches me. My energy ball disappears and I'm about to scream but I remember that we're underwater.

Jay points at Zane. I think he wants Zane to do something since he's a nindroid and doesn't need oxygen. Zane shakes his head. I realize that if he uses his elemental powers, he'll freeze all of us.

I concentrate and fight its grasp, then summon another energy ball and release it at the monster. It releases me and just disappears. Like, it just poofs.

How long have we been under? Six minutes? Seven? Wu doesn't seem to notice. Maybe he's drinking some magic tea that enables him to breathe underwater. My lungs are burning as we swim toward the surface. I gasp for air as we break through.

"Now why the heck did he just make us do that?" Jay complains.

"He wanted to teach us something," Zane says.

"Maybe the lesson was to not complain as much," Cole says. "Ahem," he looks at Jay.

"Come on, let's go train inside," I suggest.

"These are the crystals," Misako says to Garmadon. She has all her scrolls laid out on the table. "The crystal of water, ice, earth, fire, lightning, energy, and . . . darkness."

"What?! Why would there be a crystal of darkness?" Jay asks. "And do we even know where the crystals are located?"

"We must find one to continue onto the rest," She says. "But the first one is . . . the Crystal of Darkness. The only one I know the location of. It's in the River of Night."

"What can these crystals even do?" Zane asks. "We know so little about them."

"That's why we need to travel to the river." Garmadon says. "I hope the Bounty's ready, because we will be leaving in two days."

I yawn as I open the window, then crawl into my bed.


	5. The Crystal of Darkness

Unbeknownst to Lloyd, Ravana snuck into his open window. She was in the inner circle of the vengeful spirit that haunted Lloyd's nightmares. The dark purple accents on her black body armor gleamed in the moonlight. Garmadon wasn't in Lloyd's room.

She tied up the boy, musing to herself as he whimpered, consumed by fear from the nightmares of her father, who was merely a distraction.

* * *

I find myself in a vengestone cell. Thick shackles attached to the wall bind my hands and ankles. Is this part of my dream? I don't think so.

The sharp echoing of footsteps catches my attention. A lean, wiry girl approaches my cell, smirking. Purple flames slither across her gloved fist. Short black hair spills over her armored shoulders.

"Come," she says. Two armed guards in similar black armor roughly snatch me from my cell and bring me through a daunting maze of tunnels. Where are we? Underground? A surge of fear chills down my spine. Garmadon will be worried.

Her feet rap harshly against the floor. There's no light anywhere and I wonder how she even gets around. The room we come to doesn't even look that bad. She kneels down in front of some sort of black altar that's glowing with incense purple flames and whispers a few words that I can't quite make out.

She takes a vial of black powder and dumps it in a hole in the ground. There are some fizzing noises, then she scoops out some black and purple liquid that reminds me of dark matter.

"He said I must give you some . . . . treatment, you could say," she smirks.

He? I think. Who?

She pours the vicious stuff into a syringe and walks over, shoving the guards aside. I grit my teeth as she plunges the syringe into my body and feel blood dripping down my back.

The girl nods toward the guards. A black vehicle arrives shortly and we travel for some time before she motions for them to stop.

My blood turns to ice as I realize that we're on the banks of a black river. The River of Night. Misako said that the Crystal of Darkness was in it. But the river is long and doesn't have a bottom. The current is rough and fast flowing. And I'm shoved in a cage suspended above the River of Night.

* * *

Garmadon woke up and went to see Lloyd. He was not in his room.

"Have you seen Lloyd?" He asked Misako.

"No. You can't find him?" She asked.

"He was fine last night. I'm worried for him."

"You could ask Pixal to scan for clues," Misako suggests.

Pixal uses her computer vision to scan the room.

"The window is open," she notes. "But me and Zane didn't get to his room when we were installing security cameras." She scans the floor. "Footprints detected." There's one print near the window and another on the window frame. The bedsheets are rumpled. "There's only one way this could have happened. Lloyd has been taken hostage."

"WHAT?! Where is he?!" Garmadon was seriously panicking.

"I do not know. He does not have a beacon like Zane. I will need a sample of his powers to track him."

Garmadon returned with a small container glowing with energy, desperate to find out where Lloyd was.

"Interesting," says Pixal. "But I still cannot track him. Perhaps . . ."

"It must be vengestone," Misako says. "It shuts down elemental powers."

"I detect that he is not in this world," Pixal says.

"He must have crossed through the River of Night when he was taken hostage," Misako says.

"We need to rescue my son!" Garmadon said at once. Lloyd meant the absolute world to him, and the thought that his only child could be in serious danger merely fueled his determination to get him back. "Are the Bounty's repairs complete?"

"Yes," Nya says. "Let's go. But first we'll need the realm crystal." She let out a sigh and put a hand on Garmadon's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your son…"

Garmadon couldn't contain his feelings any longer. He let out a sob. "I miss him so much…"

"Oh, hon…" Misako embraced him. "We'll get him back...I'm sure of it…"

"But what if we can't… I don't want to lose him again…"

Nya turned to the others in the room. "We should leave...give them some time to process this."

Pixal and Zane nod, walking out of the room with Nya.

* * *

"This is a weird place to hide the realm crystal," Jay comments upon their arrival. "Is this supposed to be a doorbell?" He presses a white button on the side.

The door slides open and Borg's security Nindroids scan us, then show us where the real realm crystal is located. Wu takes the realm crystal and inspects it.

"Come on," Kai says impatiently. "We have a journey to make."

We get on the Bounty and Wu points the crystal at the sky. It reflects a few beams of light, then opens up a portal.

"Hang on!" Nya yells as she steers the ship straight up toward the portal.

The Bounty goes through the portal and they soon realize the ship sailing on The River of Night.

"The river doesn't have a bottom!" Misako warns. "Be careful. The crystal of darkness could be anywhere, but it will only show itself when it senses its master's presence."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Jay asks.

"It only responds to me," Garmadon says.

"The river is quite long, and there is another portal at the end of it. Be on your guard, the crystal could be anywhere."

* * *

The soldiers set up some sort of camp along the place where I am. It seems like they are waiting for Garmadon and the others to come, but I can't warn them. They're walking right into a trap.

"Prepare for battle," Ravana orders the guards.

I tense up as the Bounty comes into view.

"Lloyd!" Garmadon yells.

"Father!" I yell back at him. It's the first time that the Bounty is on a mission with its new Chronosteel armor. It looks quite intimidating.

Ravana growls. "Let them come!"

Zane and Jay fire the cannons, careful not to hit me. The rest of the ninja suit up.

A grin splits Ravana's face as she yells at the nearest soldier to do something. He salutes and flips a switch. I take a deep breath as the cage plummets into the river and I hear my father scream.

The water is so cold that it hits me like a sledgehammer. It's pitch black and I can't see anything. I'm a bit dizzy as the rough current makes the cage smash into the bank of the river.

Then I see a slight purple glow far below me, maybe fifty feet. Could this be the Crystal of Darkness? It must feel the presence of my dad's powers. I hear the sounds of the ninja fighting to get to the switch. I'm not far below the surface, about eight feet, but the bars of the vengestone cage won't budge. I see a purple ball of light go through the surface of the water. Dad must have noticed the crystal too.

* * *

"There's so many!" Jay shouts as we fight our way toward the switch.

"We have to save Lloyd!" I shout.

Ravana sees Lloyd's father firing purple blasts into the river. "The Crystal of Night!" She yells. "Sink the ship!"

"Let's see what this ship can do!" Nya shouts. The bullets bounce right off of our hull and deck. Ravana growls, then her fists bursts out in hissing purple flames. She pitches them at our deck but nothing happens.

"Hey!" I yell. She has my same powers . . . just turned evil, I think. I lunge at her with both katanas. She whips aside then blasts my other one away. Dark magic.

The ground quakes beneath our feet as Cole stomps on it. Ravana turns around and whips a ball of fire at Cole, who dives aside. I blast her with my fire but she counters me with hers.

We still can't get to the switch.

"Ice!" Zane yells, freezing the ground.

Cole blasts all the soldiers away and Jay sprints toward the switch, but Ravana blasts me away and pulls it the other way. Jay spits in her face and she cringes. I don't think he ever brushes his teeth. Cole shoves Jay aside and grabs the switch, then cranks it all the way down with his super strength. The cage shoots out of the water with Lloyd gasping for breath.

"Dad!" He points behind his father, who ducks under one of Ravana's fireballs. The cage is hit and falls into the water again.

"No!" Garmadon cries, diving in as well.

"Tornado of Creation?" Zane suggests.

"Yeah," Cole agrees. "I've been wanting to try that. Earth!"

"Ice!"

"Fire!"

"Lightning!"

"NINJA- GOOOO!"

I feel the tornado sucking in a ton of stuff as we create a giant catapult. The tornado disappears and a giant catapult with Chronosteel bullets appears in front of us.

"You suckers are in big trouble!" Jay yells at them as we launch the catapult at a mob of soldiers charging at us. It completely squashes them and their bullets don't do any effect.

"YOU GUYS JUST GOT KAI'D!" A ring of fire explodes around the nearest soldiers and I take them out with Spinjitzu.

"Triple Tiger Sashay!" Cole yells as he jumps on a soldier's head, then earth punches the next, then crashes the next one down.

"Where's Lloyd and Garmadon?" Asks Pixal. She scans the area around us.

"Oh my god!" Jay yells. " I think they're still in the river!"

* * *

My father briefly hugs me before gesturing toward the crystal. We swim deeper and follow the purple light.

We finally get to the crystal. The pressure is so strong that I'm kind of dizzy. I realize that the crystal is stuck in stone. I pull at it but it won't budge, and my powers are still weak from the vengestone. I motion to my father. He's probably the only one who can pull it out. I sigh in relief as he is able to.

Me and my father swim towards the surface as fast as possible. I almost get swept away by the current but he grabs me. I feel like my lungs are about to burst. It feels more than twice as as long as Wu's octopus lesson to try to teach Jay not to complain as much. Suddenly, the crystal starts glowing, as well as an aura around my father. What in the name of Ninjago… I watch him for a moment as he begins to levitate, his eyes glowing a deep purple.

* * *

I watch the ninja and my family down below, fighting off Ravana's soldiers. My life flashes before me.

I remember when I first met Misako in Ninjago City. Her smile was like a hypnotic thing that dragged me close. Her eyes were like rope, that tied around my soul. And that voice, that sweet voice of which sounded like an angel singing seemed to overwhelm my heart with love. That was the day I met Misako. I remember how she took care of me, even when my evil side got to me. She grew fond of Wu however and I could tell she was more into him then me. I stole her heart by stealing the words from my only sibling, and soon we had a son. He was beautiful like her...I only saw him when he was a baby. That was also the last time I saw him. I was cursed the next day, and doomed to live my life in the underworld.

I spent years trying to get my cold, wicked hands on the golden weapons so I could escape the prison that restrained me, and turn Ninjago into my image. A world that would have been grey, dull, and evil. When I was freed I worked my way to have four arms...and when I heard about my son in trouble...I couldn't help but worry. Even though I was evil, I loved my only child. It was then that I knew that I wasn't all bad and a sense of hope came to be in my heart. At the same time I was scared of it.

I saved my son, only to find out we were torn apart. I couldn't believe it. A wicked fate had once again pushed me against my family. He was the chosen ninja to become the one to save Ninjago from me, the evil who sought to destroy good. I was honestly terrified to face him in battle... I didn't want to hurt him, much less kill him. He was my child after all… I plotted to kill the others but my plans failed and he grew stronger and stronger until the day came I met the Overlord. His words were like music to my ears. His evil intentions, the vibe of pure destruction. The venom in my veins couldn't resist this opportunity. I remember when I had that choice to turn back. Until those words stung their way into my head…

'You can still do the right thing..'

I then realized, that I couldn't, for as long as I was corrupt, I would be doomed to cause harm, after all that is my element...the power of destruction. I remember being relieved to be rid of the evil after the battle was over. His smile brought warmth to my old, yet renewed heart, and I couldn't help but cry. I couldn't believe it! After so, so long, Lloyd was finally reunited with me... Soon, I suspected that evil would be after him. He was the ninja who stopped the greatest villain Ninjago ever had to deal with. But then, just like that, everything fell apart. I was separated once again, but I knew for a fact that Lloyd needed me more than anything, and so I returned.

A blazing purple light emanates. There's a blinding blast, then I open my eyes and slowly descend.

The purple light must have connected with their armor, stripping it off. A bunch of very surprised naked soldiers are standing in front of us.

Jay breaks down laughing hysterically as he points at them. "YOUR BUTT JUST GOT KICKED!"

Ravana notices then screams and runs away, as did the soldiers.

Jay laughs again and punches Cole. "How do you find this not totally hilarious?" He yells.

Cole laughs good naturedly and punches Jay. He forgot that his earth punch was activated. Jay winces in pain as he feels his bones break and collapses against the wall.

"OH MY GOSH!" Kai yells. "Why did you just do that?!"

"I-It was an accident!" Cole answers.

"Is he going to be alright?" Nya asks.

"Probability of survival. Calculating. Eighty-nine point sixty-two percent." Pixal says.

I kneel beside him and sigh. "Lloyd, come here."

Lloyd walks over and gently presses both hands onto Jay's chest, who is unconscious. Wu places the end of his staff on Jay as well to numb the pain.

"Almost . . . . done . . ." Lloyd says, sighing softly in relief. He feels a little lightheaded and collapses into my arms, falling asleep, as the vengestone made him quite weak.

I hold him close. The area around us becomes unusually quiet.

Jay opens his eyes and looks at us all standing around him, then remembers.

"COLE! Y-YOU!" He yells.

"It was only an accident," Nya tells him as Jay is about to punch Cole in the face.

I raise my voice, gently putting Lloyd down, moving to hold Jay back. "Stop! This will only lead to worse!"

Jay sighs and I let go. "Sorry, Sensei…"

"The first crystal will tell us the next one, and so on," Misako explains. Suddenly, the crystal begins to glow in my hands. It brews a frosty wind.

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Jay asks.

"Ice," says Zane. "The next crystal is ice."


	6. Never a Straight Line

I walk into my son's room. He has just woken up. I sigh softly, sitting down beside him, putting a hand supportingly on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Lloyd?" I ask.

"Yeah…" Lloyd smiles weakly. "Just a little tired."

"Well, we found out where the next crystal is. It's at the Wailing Alps."

Lloyd pales.

"What's the matter?" I grow concerned.

"M-Morro…" he whimpers.

"Oh…" I hold him close. My voice drops to a faint whisper as I stroke his hair "I'm here...you'll be alright…"

He then lets out an agonized scream, then collapses onto his bed and my heart practically breaks. I hold him close even more.

"AAAGHHHHH IT HUUUUURTS!"

"Oh gosh…" I breath. "What happened?"

"Sh-She injected something into me…" he lifts up his shirt and shows me the wound.

I curse softly under my breath. Ravana, you will PAY for what you've done to my son.

"Is everything okay here?" Nya asks as she comes into the room.

"Just . . . give us a minute," I tell her.

Nya shrugs and walks out.

I sigh softly, holding him close. "I don't want to ever leave you, my son…"

"Me neither…" Lloyd replies. He tears up and cries softly in my arms.

"Oh, Lloyd… I can't imagine how bad you must feel right now…" I cooed.

"I'm just so scared...so insecure…"

"I can understand…" I whispered. "You are merely a child at heart, but have the physical strength of an adult."

"Father…" Lloyd whimpers into my chest.

"Shh…" I hush, stroking his hair. "I'm right here… I'll always be here…"

* * *

"I hate using small weapons!" Kai complains as we're training on the deck.

"Remember, they can be just as powerful," Zane reminds him.

We're mixing up our weapons today. I have Nya's spear while Zane is using Cole's scythe to attack the sparring bot.

"Using a scythe is not programmed in my system," he notes. "How do you get used to using this thing?"

Cole shrugs. "It's mine."

"Hey guys," Lloyd and his father walk out onto the deck. He looks a bit tired.

"Hey . . . woaAH!" Kai looks at Lloyd, then slips and almost falls overboard when I sweep his feet from under him.

"Ha! Gotcha there!" I laugh at him.

"I never liked using shurikens anyway," Kai grumbles.

* * *

Meanwhile, Garmadon sat in his room reading some poems he found. He remembered when his brother mentioned about the path to save his son was never going to be a straight one.

 _The Crooked Path_

 _Long before time had a name_  
 _She was created by destiny, her presence as rare as a living fortune_  
 _For she was forged from blood, sweat and tears, hardened with toil, and bond with chains of steel_  
 _Chains that talent alone could not chip through._

 _She left a path for those who sought her gifts_  
 _Through quaint villages and eerie caves_  
 _Tantalizing high cliffs and the scalding desert_  
 _For there is no shortcut to cross the boundaries of her ethereal embrace_

 _Endless difficulties on this path_  
 _Bitter winds and the relentless, stinging remarks that stung like icy shards_  
 _Agonizingly grievous losses and the anguished wails of the sacrifices made_  
 _But I shall always pick myself up, for the challenges do not faze me_

 _When I look at the horizon, wondering why I even wanted to set foot on this path_  
 _Her resonant, echoing voice rises up from the depths shrouded in darkness_  
 _If I want to give in, then why did I even embark on this daunting route?_  
 _But just because I'm different, doesn't mean that I'll never make a difference_

 _Soon the path will not be a narrow one, but one that is worn with the footprints of those_  
 _Who have followed in the trail I paved_  
 _Who realized that there is a price for success_  
 _Who have achieved their dreams_

He sighed as he sympathized for Lloyd. He too remembered the feeling of hopelessness and immense pain of being possessed. He made a mental vow to protect his son as best he could. He didn't want him hurt . . . or worse.


	7. Losing Courage

"So when will we set out for the next crystal?" I ask, watching my father come outside.

"As soon as possible, " Zane replies.

Dad spoke up. "Then it is settled. We leave now."

We all rush to the bridge.

"How exactly will we get to the location anyway?" Jay asks. "We don't have all those fancy mechs and we don't even know where it is!"

"I do," Zane says. "There is an ice cave I detected within the mountain.

"We will be arriving in t minus 26.49 minutes," Pixal says.

I sigh softly and move to the edge of the deck, looking out into the distance. I watch as my father comes and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay there, Son?"

"I guess... Just a bit overwhelmed of the past... I don't think I'll be able to recover over what had happened so many years back during Morro's possession."

"Understandable," Father replied. "The past is the past, but there'll always be the future. I'll help you through this."

"Hey guys, remember my question about how we will get there?" Jay intervenes. "WE DON'T HAVE MECHS! And what if we get blown off the mountain? Or lost?!"

"Dude, have you ever heard of something called a _dragon_?" Cole laughs. "And you can't get lost when you're being guided by a walking computer."

Kai sighs. "Lloyd and his father are having a moment. Let's give them space."

"Pixal, when do we get there?" Wu asks after we stare out at the changing landscape for a while. I notice that it's starting to get colder.

"16.27 minutes."

"We should get ready," Nya says. She motions for Pixal to take control of the Bounty while we follow her to one of the storage rooms.

"Dad, the view... It's gorgeous..."

"Yes..." Dad replies.

"We're here." Pixal announces after the 16 plus minutes have passed.

"It's freezing!" Jay complains. Zane doesn't seem to notice.

I use my powers and create green flames. "Here Jay." I put them near his cold hands.

"Heh, thanks Greenie!" He ruffles my hair.

"Hey, no one messes up _my hair_!" I start chasing Jay around the Bounty.

My father chuckles. "Some things never change..."

* * *

I turn to Pixal. "Shall we?"

She smiles back. "We are compatible after all," She says, getting onto my dragon once I have summoned it.

"Hey, wait for us!" Cole yells. "You two might not need parkas or something but we do!"

"It is okay. We have got this."

"Your hoods are equipped with earpieces so we can keep in touch," Misako reminds us. "It is imperative that you do not lose them."

"Good luck my son..." I watch Garmadon embrace Lloyd and I smile.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Let's go!" Kai shouts. He jumps off of the deck of the Bounty. "FIYAAHH!"

"Cannonbaaaallllll!" Jay jumps off the deck as well.

Lloyd smiles. "It's not a pool, Jay!" He jumps off the deck.

"So where exactly is this cave you're talking about?" Cole asks me. "I bet there's tons of hidden crevasses and stuff on this mountain."

"It is near the Hanging Temple," I tell him as I direct my dragon upwards.

"It reminds me of a mining camp," Kai says.

"What's that sound?" Pixal asks. I hear a slight gust that's increasing in strength coming from the sky.

"Wind gusts!" Jay screams. "What are we going to do? What if we get blown off of our dragons?" He panics.

We watch as a portal suddenly opens.

Lloyd tenses up. "Oh my gosh..." he mumbles.

"Should we go through it?" Kai asks.

"Why don't we worry about what's COMING OUT!" Jay screams and points. "IT'S MORRO!"

Lloyd pales. Morro blasts us all with a gust of wind. Lloyd is so surprised that his dragon disappears and he starts falling toward the ground.

"AAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

I am meditating outside when I suddenly hear a scream.

"MORRO!"

I panic. Lloyd...he told me before he was terrified of him. I need to help. Fast. I run to the front deck and see Lloyd falling as Morro flies after him. Lloyd blasts him with energy but Morro just goes right through it and into Lloyd's body. _Not again..._

I'm stuck in place as I watch possessed Lloyd fly up toward the rest of the ninja. How did Morro even escape the departed realm? Lloyd's hair has become black, his eyes dark and hateful.

"How can we fight him?" Asked Cole. "Remember what happened last time?"

"But we've fought him before. Just avoid his wind!" Kai warns.

"Easier said than done," Jay screams as he plummets toward the ground, then rights himself.

"This is strange," Zane says. "My memory tells me that Morro was on our side on the Day of the Departed. But now he has gone back to his old ways. Peculiar."

I need to do something.

"Ravana sent me to tell you that the Cursed Realm will be reborn once again!" Morro yells.

"So Ravana's behind this . . ." I mutter to myself. "Son . . . you have to fight him!" I clench my fists as I watch him attacking the ninja.

* * *

I'm powerless to help as my body attacks my friends. I can't do anything, and I feel terribly guilty. Had I been more quick to act, we could've avoided all of this. I can't help but worry about how my father is faring.

"Son . . . you have to fight him!" I hear him cry out. _I can't!_

I can't help but sob internally.

"You cry?" Morro's taunting voice tells me. "Weak! You could never do it without the help of your friends, could you? You're just a burden to them!"

"LEAVE MY SON ALONE!" Father screamed.

A blast of purple light hit my body, but it's Morro that it hits. He yells and for a second I'm falling. Me. Falling. I'm not in his body anymore.

"You need to summon your dragon!" Jay yells.

"LLOYD!" Father summons his dragon and flies toward me. "Grab on!" His dragon swoops by and I reach out . . .

My fingertips touch the wing, but it's not enough to grasp on. It only rips my nails. I look up to see that I was blown away by a gust of wind.

I keep falling toward the bottom. _Control my fear_ , I think. I grit my teeth and concentrate, but it's still not working. I close my eyes... _This is the end..._ The ground rushes up to meet me. I can tell that Morro's cooking up a serious storm. The snow is whipping in my face, and it stings my eyes. I can't see anything but bitter snow rushing toward me.

I land.

It's over.


	8. Ice and Comfortable

"LLOYD!" I scream as I lose sight of him. It's hard to see through all the snow. I see a hole in the snow on the ground at the bottom of the mountain. It's probably him. I speed down, landing next to it.

He's unconscious, and it's so cold that his lips are turning blue. _He's not dead...thank goodness..._ I let out a sigh of relief. The other ninja land next to me. Kai summons a fireball to give us warmth.

Lloyd's eyes flutter open. "D-Dad?" He says, reaching out to grasp my hand. I'm surprised by how cold it is.

"Oh, Lloyd..." I pull him close, crying uncontrollably.

"What about the crystal?" Zane asks.

"Y-You guys can go on without me . . ." he says weakly.

"I'll stay back here with Lloyd. You go ahead." I close my eyes to keep the tears at bay.

The ninja hesitate for a second, then summon their dragons and fly away.

* * *

My father carries me back onto the Bounty. I heal myself with Wu's help. We're in the back room, and I'm sitting in front of the fireplace with my back against the wall.

"Are you alright?" he asks me.

I sigh softly. "I feel s-so weak..."

"I know..." Dad pulls me close. "At least you are still alive..."

" _Me too..._ " My voice breaks. I have flashbacks to when Harumi forced me to fight my soulless father, and I start to tear up. "I-I can't believe you were pure evil... _you nearly killed me..._ " I bury my head into my father's chest and begin to sob. " _Everyone saw..._ "

"Shhh... I'm not evil anymore... It's alright, I'm here..." Dad consoles. "I never meant to hurt you the way I did . . . or left you there to fend for yourself."

"I love you so much... _I didn't want to hurt you either..._ " I cry.

"Oh, Son... I'm right here..."

I eventually calm down. "Thanks for being a part of me..."

"Of course, Lloyd..." Dad smiles at me.

We let go.

"I wonder how the others are doing. Hopefully they've found the crystal." I look out the window and see the brief flashes of their dragons. Morro is nowhere in sight. "I shouldn't have let him take over that easily," I admit.

"I know you were scared..." Garmadon sighed. "You're still alive and it's all that matters." He looks past me and sees the ninjas' dragons circling toward the Bounty. "They must've got the crystal." My father exclaims. We stand up and I lean on his shoulder as we walk to the deck. I see Zane clasping a clear crystal in both hands.

"Cool!" I cheer, a bit weak from the impact of the fall.

"Glad to see you're okay," Kai says. "But Ravana knows we're after the crystals, and they're the only thing that can defeat her . . . um, boss. They only need to get one from us to keep us from defeating them."

"We should get the other crystals then," Garmadon concedes. "Zane, what's the next one?"

Zane stares down at the crystal. "I am not certain. It hasn't shown any sign of other elements. Perhaps we should wait."

"I hate waiting!" Kai mutters impatiently under his breath. "Maybe we need to trigger it or something."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Cole asks him. "I think we'll just have to wait."

I shiver as I see some dark clouds forming overhead.

"Is that Morro?" Jay asks. "I really hate that guy! I mean, I always did, but . . ." He rambles on and walks around the deck, talking to himself.

I lightly squeeze my father's hand. He looks to and hugs me. "I'll protect you..."

"I detect no other being within a two mile radius of our location," Zane says.

"Maybe you're malfunctioning! I mean, he's a _ghost_!" Jay tells him.

A bolt of lightning strikes somewhere in the distance. We all jump and look, just as another bolt hits the crystal. Zane jumps and almost drops it. I don't really know how he didn't get electrocuted.

"That's no storm," Cole says as it begins to sleet. "That was the next sign!"

"So the next crystal is mine? Woo-hoo! I've got happy feet!" Jay screams.

"Hey, that's my line!" Cole responds.

The two of them chase each other around the Bounty.

"Now if only we could find where the next one is . . ." I hear my mom say to Wu as we walk inside to take shelter from the incoming storm.

"How did you find the location the first time?" I ask.

"The previous crystal reflected on a map, and we pieced together some clues to confirm that this crystal was hidden in the Wailing Alps. I'll try that again, but . . ." She shifts uncomfortably. "It seems like this is all too easy. There must be some sort of catch. I guess we'll find something sooner or later," Misako says.

"I'm still a little tired." I turn to my father.

"I'll walk with you to the bed and stay until you fall asleep," he tells me.

The two of us walk over to my bed. I sigh, remembering the picture had flown away, but it didn't matter. He was here. And I wouldn't have it any other way.


	9. Spider's in the House Again

I'm still running around the Bounty with Cole. Garmadon comes up from the inside of the vessel.

"Could you please be a bit quieter? Lloyd's trying to rest."

"Oh, sorry..." I respond. "Has he been doing alright?"

"He's okay," Garmadon replies. "Just a bit . . . shaken. He's gone through so much these past several months, I can't help but worry."

"We've all been through so much," Nya agrees. "But it's the future we need to focus on. Pixal, have we figured out the location of the next crystal?"

"No, but we're assembling some more computer parts to scan for any clues. Jay, can you get the parts in a box that's marked 'spare?' "

"Sure," I answer. I run into our storage room where we keep a ton of computer parts and other random stuff. I open the box marked 'spare'. My blood practically freezes when a tiny spider jumps out. It looks strangely familiar. Then it hits me. That spider that Pixal called the 'foreign agent.' It must've reformed and has gotten stronger. I jump aside as it leaps at me with legs outstretched. "The SPIDER!" I screech.

Everyone dashes into the room, even Lloyd. Lloyd seems confused.

"We clearly got rid of that thing a while ago," Nya says. "But I guess not. It's been here all this time, which means . . . it's tracking our location!"

"We must not let our guard down," Wu says, walking into the room in a calm manner.

Suddenly, Zane and Pixal's eyes turn red. I watch the spider as it scurries away. _Oh no..._

"What the . . ." I say before they both turn to Lloyd.

Zane unsheathes his shurikens.

"They're being controlled!" Kai yells. "How do we stop it?"

"I'm working on it . . ." Nya says as she starts booting up the computers.

"It'd be really useful to have our techno blades right now," Cole says. "Those toys were so cool."

"Ugh, don't remind me..." Lloyd mumbles. His eyes fill with fear as Zane advances toward him. Pixal launches him toward Lloyd, and Zane throws his shurikens in the process as he flies toward Lloyd and prepares to kick him. Lloyd is completely weaponless.

* * *

"Lloyd!" I cry as Pixal almost stabs him in the chest, but he dodges at my words. I summon a ball of purple energy, letting it immerse itself in her. Lloyd ducks as both shurikens miss his head by a hair's breadth.

She's disabled now, and topples over like a Nindroid that was powered down. Now we just need to take care of Zane. Bad news is that it's not going to be that easy. Seeing Pixal go down just makes him angrier.

He throws a shuriken, pinning Lloyd against a wall. I gasp, and run to him, and yank the shurikens out from the wood. Zane makes a menacing growl and points his bow and arrow at Lloyd and fires. He's stunned for a moment then dives aside as the arrow whizzes through his hair. Sometimes I can't understand why everyone wants to target _my son_. I shake off the thought, and concentrate, blasting Zane with a ball of energy as well. It doesn't hit him square in the chest like it did to Pixal, but it's enough to disable him. I sigh in relief, pulling Lloyd close to me for a brief moment. Sometimes I wish moments like that could last forever.

"It's alright now..." I whisper to him.

"Thanks..."

"Of course..."

"Now what do we do about them?" Jay asks, looking at Zane and Pixal. Their eyes are dim and empty.

"I'm rebooting their systems," Nya says. "It should take several minutes, and the process should also clear out any malfunctions or corrupted functions,"

"What do you mean any 'corrupted functions?" Jay asks. He sighs and giggles. "I guess you were always the smart one . . ."

I pull away from Lloyd and we join the others.

Kai giggles. "Remember that one time when you didn't know what 'bequeathed' meant?"

"Heh."

"Let's get back to work." Cole reminds everyone. "We still don't know where the next crystal is, and even though we got rid of the spider, we could still be followed."

The thought of that sends a chill up my spine. Oh, there's that spider again. I blast it with my powers.

I put a hand protectively on Lloyd's shoulder. He smiles at me.

"I love you so much," I whisper to which Lloyd gently nods back. "It's going to be okay..."

* * *

" 'It's going to be okay...' More like 'It's _NEVER_ going to be okay...' " I smile sadistically.

"Now what, sis?" Ravana asked.

"I forgot to mention...the green one still has feelings for me."

"Hahaha, clever!" Ravana cackles darkly. "Shall we use them against him?"

"I've done that before. He's heartbroken." I smile at the memory of his depressed face during the betrayal at the Oni Temple. "Wait, that's it! Lets lure some of them to the Oni Temple and then we can capture them!"

"You were always the clever one," Ravana muses. "Very well, but I'm not wasting my time to do that. Perhaps you should go."

"Me? Of course not. They will surely be suspicious."

"Ok then," she says. "But _she_ can do it," Ravana motions for her second in command to come. "Listen. We're going to create a distraction and you'll need to pretend to be in distress. Then when the ninja come save the day, you'll infiltrate them and divide their group." The girl nods, rubbing her hands together. "Get our fleet into position," Ravana orders one of the guards. "As for us, we need to create some diversions. Sister, where is that ship of theirs?"

I check the tracker linked to my pet spider, but there is nothing to track. "They must have found it!" I curse under my breath. "But their last location was heading toward that cute monastery of theirs. How about we prepare a _welcoming_ party?"

"You're too clever!" Ravana laughs. "Of course. I'll see to that. But first, we need to drop you off," She points to her second in command. "Oh, and I almost forgot . . . _my_ pet."

I set our course toward their city. A dark shadow falls over it as we appear above their skies. The citizens look absolutely terrified. "They're so helpless without the ninja," I observe as the people cower below.

Ravana nods to her second in command, who jumps and parachutes out the window. "I'll deploy my pet," she says. She presses a button and a sphere drops out from the underbelly of our ship into the ocean near the docks. "Now, we just need to wait for the ninja to take the bait."


	10. Distress Signal

"We've got a distress call . . ." Nya says as she answers the phone. "The city's under attack!"

"Should we take the Bounty or our dragons?" Jay suggests.

"Then they'll surely know it's us," Kai points out.

"I suggest traveling the old fashion way," Wu says. I hear the engine of a car outside.

"You really did a nice job with the cloaking device," Jay says. He's getting tripped up over the design of the car. It's actually a mobile base complete with weapons, communication systems, and other equipment, but it just looks like a minivan on the outside. We all get in.

Lloyd turns to me. "Just like old times, huh? Like with the whole gang back together again?"

"I remember that," I say. That time when me and the other workers crashed Chen's ceremony with the Roto-jet. I even remember Nya saying, "It always brings tears to my eyes when I see the old gang back together."

Lloyd lets out a sigh. "I felt so lost without my father...it's nice to have him back as well..."

We enter the city. There's many scared citizens looking up at one of their warships. Pixal skillfully navigates us into the back of a deserted alleyway hidden from sight.

"Time to go ninja-mode!" Jay exclaims, putting on his hood.

I stay back for a moment with Garmadon as Lloyd leads the others into battle.

"He's come so far..." he tells me. "I couldn't be more proud of him." I nod, then join the others as we slip out into the city.

* * *

"We need to protect the people!" My father says as we run through the city.

I nod in reply. Then I hear a scream. There's a girl cowering in a corner as a warrior stands over her. Her dark eyes are quivering and her windblown hair is covering her face. I unsheath my sword and slam him into the wall, then help the girl up.

"Th-Thank you Lloyd," she says shyly. She looks about my age, a year younger. "My parents . . ." she looks down at her feet. "...died. Can I stay with you?"

"Of course. Let's get to somewhere safe." Another mob of soldiers is advancing on us, and father is busy with some others.

"Stay back," I tell her.

"I'm not going anywhere," She whimpers, backing all the way into the corner.

"NINJA-GOOOOO!" My spinjitzu tornado knocks them all aside. I speak into my earpiece, telling Nya to come pick up the girl. "What's your name?" I ask her.

"I'm Natalie."

"Cool." I tell Nya who the girl is.

I summon my dragon, blasting the warriors with green flames. I fly toward the docks, where the ship is hovering above.

"How are we supposed to make it go away?" Jay asks. "If we touch the force field, we'll be fried!"

"I'll do it," I hear my father say.

"Y-You can destroy the force field?" I ask. _Right...he threw me into the wall in our last battle and completely wrecked it...such sad memories..._

He starts generating a purple beam and shoots it at the air around the ship. The force field becomes visible. He keeps pushing and it starts fizzing, then breaks with a slight popping sound. He leans on my shoulder for support and nods. Jay sends a blast of lightning at the ship. Kai then uses fire, and the other ninja use their elements to fire at the ship. I'm last and I shoot my own beam at the ship. We burn a smoking hole in the side. The ship starts belching smoke and begins to lose altitude, but a portal appears above and it travels through the portal.

"They got away!" Jay groans.

I turn to Father. "You alright?"

"Yes, just exhausted. My powers can only take so much. I noticed you were saddened a little earlier. Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah," I sigh. I speak into my earpiece for Nya to pick us up. The car speeds into a view.

"Wow," Jay says as he admires the car. There's barely any scratches on it. I wonder how she managed to keep it in such good condition.

"Come on!" Nya motions us to get in. I get in the back seat with Natalie, and my dad falls asleep on my shoulder. I look down and smile at him. It felt so wonderful to have him back...

We arrive at the monastery, my dad having woken up by then.

"It's so . . ." Natalie observes everything.

"How about cool!" Jay says as he flops on the couch and turns on his video game console.

"You'll get used to him," Cole smirks.

I notice that there's some dust gathering in some areas.

"This place should get redone," Nya observes.

"Seriously? We just got back. And I hate chores!" Jay complains.

"Ninja-gooo!" Wu does spinjitzu, creating some furniture to make the place look like it did so long ago.

"So many old memories . . ." My father breathes. His eyes are on the verge of tearing up. I hug him and sigh. I was there when the serpentine destroyed the place.

"I'm sorry..." I cry. "The serpentine...were all my fault..."

"It's alright...it was so long ago now...you've changed... _I'm so proud of you_ "

I see him glance over to see something faintly glistening. He hugs me for a moment, letting go to take it out. _The next crystal! It's been buried beneath the floorboards this whole time!_

"No wonder we couldn't locate it!" Misako says. "It was right here!"

"This is so cool!" Jay says as he marvels over the crystal.

"The crystal of lightning?" Natalie asks, confused.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"My parents have read about them," she says.

"So now we need to wait for a signal for the next crystal," Kai says. The crystal begins to pulse and the floor quakes beneath our feet.

"What's happening?" Natalie asks, a hint of fear behind her voice.

"The next one is Earth!" Cole shouts. "That's mine!"

"The Crystal of Earth?" Natalie asks. "My parents have told me about these crystals. That crystal is the only one I know the location."

"Where is it?" Cole asks eagerly.

"It's in . . . Primevil's Eye."

I tense up. My father puts a hand on my shoulder.

"We need to be prepared," I say. "The place is a massive labyrinth."

"Right," Said Misako. "We'll prepare communication equipment. Get some rest, because the clock is still against us. We will prepare departure in two days."

"It must've been hard for you," Natalie says tentatively. We're in my room after dinner.

"It's . . . . complicated," I sigh as I close the curtains in my room.

"It must've been hard for you and your father," she says.

"We've had our ups and downs," I answer. "It must've been hard for you to lose your parents too. I know that feeling well."

She looks down, and for a moment I worry that I might have overstepped her boundaries.

"Well, goodnight," she sighs.

"You too," I tell her as I pull up the covers.

* * *

"So we're leaving tomorrow, right?" Jay says.

"Yes," Wu says. "Kai, Jay, and Lloyd, you'll go with Natalie and locate the Crystal of Earth. The rest of us will stay back to keep watch on other activity."

"We should do some training before that, though." Kai suggests.

We head to the main room after breakfast with Wu, Misako, Garmadon, Pixal, and Natalie.

"Wanna join us?" Jay asks her. "Let's play Capture the Flag!" He suggests. Cole has two banners to use as flags.

"The rules are simple," Wu says. "You must bring the opposite team's flag and pin it to your wall."

We let Jay and Cole be team captains. Jay picks Nya as his first choice, then Cole chooses Kai. Jay then picks Zane, and Cole selects me. Finally, Jay chooses Pixal and Natalie asks to join me.

"Sure," I answer.

Misako goes over to the control panel and turns the room into a battle scenario. Blocks used for cover rise out of the floor and ropes swing from the ceiling.

"Go!" Wu says.

For a second, nobody moves. Then, we all jump into action. It's kind of like a real battle with all the chaos. Kai pitches fireballs at Jay, who dives behind a piece of cover.

"Scaredy-cat!" He teases Jay.

Jay blasts lightning back at him and Kai creates a fiery shield that surrounds him. Pixal scans the area with her computer vision while Nya creates a distraction by making spouts of water erupt from the ground. Zane jumps, then does spinjitzu and turns Nya's water into a solid wall..

I see Jay swinging on the ropes above and he's about to land on Cole, so I summon an energy beam and cut the rope down. Jay screeches then rolls behind a ball of cover. I'm fighting Zane, then see Nya slinking toward our flag. I fight Zane's grasp, but he's not letting me get toward Nya.

She takes the flag off the wall, then jumps as an arrow lodges into the wall beside her shoulder. I see Natalie kneeling behind a block of cover. Kai jumps on his sister and they roll over on the ground, the flag fluttering out of her grasp.

Natalie runs toward the flag. She yelps and slides as a blast of ice sails over her head, then grabs our flag and pins it to our wall.

I'm momentarily distracted then find myself on the ground, pinned by Zane. I guess I should have been more aware, since he's a nindroid and has serious focus. I hook my arm around his elbow and flip over so that I'm on top.

"Zane!" I hear Pixal yell. Zane takes her hand and they swing away on one of the ropes, but not before he blasts at me with ice. I dive behind some cover where Natalie is.

"We need a diversion!" Cole says.

"I have an idea," Natalie says.

We look at her with uncertainty.

"Come on, you can trust me," she says. I nod, then jump and grab one of the ropes. Kai meets me in midair and unsheathes his katana. I block with my sword and almost lose my grip on the rope but I swing higher. Down below, Zane is fighting with Cole and Nya is trying to overwhelm him with water. I see Natalie draw her bow and fire some arrows at her. She darts between different pieces of cover. Jay and Pixal see her.

I'm maintaining an energy shield against Kai's fire, and in my free hand blast some beams of energy to distract Pixal. The beams are so bright that Jay shields his eyes, and Natalie grabs the flag off the wall. Jay notices and does Airjitzu, landing in front of Natalie. Nya rushes over to help, but Kai flies down to keep her from Natalie.

I swing over to help Cole, who is a bit overwhelmed with Pixal and Zane. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Natalie throw a dagger that whizzes through Jay's sleeve and she trips him, then slides between Nya's legs and runs back to our side, pinning their flag against our wall.

Misako makes the blocks of cover and ropes sink back into the walls and floor. For a moment, it's totally silent except for the sound of all of us breathing hard.

"I didn't see that coming," Jay says.

"That was quite creative," I tell Natalie. She nods shyly and takes my hand. "Where did you learn how to fight?"

"I took martial arts in the city a while ago, and since you wanted me to join, I figured I might as well do something useful," she says.

Suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my back and I collapse. "Agh!"

"What is it?" She asks worriedly.

"Before you were here . . . I was shot with a dart . . ."

Garmadon rushes in, stopping the training. "Oh, Lloyd!" He kneels beside me and holds me close.

"D-Dad..." I whisper weakly. I hear only a few more words before fainting.

"Don't you _ever_ leave me again..."


	11. True Nature

I carry Lloyd to my room and hold him close as I do so. I can't help but worry. After Lloyd saved me, I promised to take care of him as best I could.

"F-Father?" He groans and opens his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to go with the others on the journey tomorrow?" He asks.

"Yeah," he replies. "I'm just tired."

"I'm just so worried...I don't ever want to lose you..." I choke back a sob. "Never, Lloyd... _never again..._ "

"Wait...don't leave..." He says to me.

"I'll stay for a little longer. I love you, my son...more than anything else in this world... I never meant to disown you..."

"I know it wasn't truly you, but at that moment...it struck me deep...I just couldn't take it..." Lloyd embraces me close.

"It's alright now, Lloyd... It's alright now..." I stroke his hair, smiling softly, glad that I didn't fatally injure him in my corruption.

"Thanks, Father..." he whispers into my chest.

"Of course..." My chest clenches in overwhelming emotion. "I love you, Son... _so much..._ "

"I love you too..."

* * *

I'm thankful that I'm not plagued by another nightmare, but Jay barges into my room in the morning and starts yelling.

"Get up! There's something up with your dad!" He yells.

" _What . . .?_ " I get up groggily and follow him to father's room. He's rigid as a board and tight lipped.

"He's not waking up . . ." Nya says. I feel if there is any pulse, and there is.

"I have scanned his body and there appears to be no physical damage," Zane says. "But he is in distress . . ."

"It seems like some sort of nightmare," I say. "Though I've never experienced anything like this."

"We must not let this stop us from getting the crystal. Natalie will help lead you, Kai, and Jay to it while we stay back and look after the monastery."

I sigh softly and stroke my father's hair before getting up. "I love you, Father..."

"So how exactly are we going to get there?" Natalie asks.

"I was thinking of taking the Destiny's Shadow," I reply.

Misako motions for us to stand back as the floor slides open and the Destiny's Shadow rises up. Pixal helps us equip our new earpieces.

"Stay safe . . ." Misako says to me.

"I'll be careful," I answer and hug her before getting onto the ship. I think of Father. I've been through so much, even without him...but I'm glad he's back.

"Let's GOOOO!" Jay yells as we fly into the open sky.

"It's been a while since we've used this," Kai says. "But this thing is awesome!"

"So where do we go?" I ask Natalie. She takes out the map she was marking the night before.

"The crystal is near the Oni Temple," She says.

A lump forms in my throat. "Rumi..." I mutter softly to myself. I miss her...

We spend at least half the day cruising through the dense forest, talking to Misako and the others every so often. Jay plays some music and hums along with it, then spends some time ranting about his video games. We talk about Fritz Donegan for a little while too. Jay smiles softly. Soon we arrive. I see Natalie who looks out longingly into the distance.

"Natalie, you alright?" I ask her.

"Yeah...just thinking about my parents...I miss them..."

I sigh as well. I can't help but wonder how my father is faring. He seemed alright before, but now... I fear that it will only be a matter of time before it gets worse... I don't want to lose him again...

"We're almost here," Natalie says, looking at her map. I feel like I distinctly remember this place when me and Harumi came here, but I'm not really sure.

After a moment, we arrive. And it definitely seems familiar. Suddenly I hear a faint cannon fire in the distance, and a cannon ball disables the thrusters. _What the?!_ I think to myself.

"What was that? Are we being followed?" Natalie looks around frantically.

Then a cage drops over me and the others. " _NATALIE WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!_ "

"I don't know!" She cries. "I think we're being followed!"

Cole starts pulling at the bars of the cage but it's solid vengestone.

"I always hated that stuff," Jay complains.

However, Natalie doesn't get captured. I couldn't understand why. I guess it's because she doesn't seem that important. She looks up and nods.

A purple orb floats above her hand and she pitches it at Kai. He's so surprised that he doesn't move until Jay shoves him to the right.

"Y-You're working f-for _them?!_ " Jay shouts. "B-but that's . . . wrong!"

"What's wrong?" she asks. "A bunch of superpowered kids being trained by an old man and playing dress up? Flying over to save the city like superheroes? How many times has your miserable city fallen under control on your watch?"

The Oni Temple...Primevals Eye... I think of Harumi and how she betrayed me...she said _those exact things._ How could Natalie even know about this?! She wasn't even there! "Harumi..." I whisper.

"Oh, I forgot to mention...SHE'S STILL ALIVE!"


	12. Not Again!

There's a black cloud in the sky as I open my eyes. I recognize this place. It's near the Corridor of Elders. I gasp when I see one of the chairs that a statue of the First Spinjitzu Master is supposed to be sitting in occupied by a hideous black monster. Several people stand by his side. There's Ravana, Harumi, and when I see the person sitting below her, my heart stops. It's Natalie at first, but before my eyes she changes. Transforms. Her long brown hair becomes black and close cropped, her chocolate brown eyes become sharp and dark purple.

Is this even true? I'm standing amongst the ranks of soldiers, but nobody really notices me. It's like I'm a ghost.

"Bring in the prisoner," the hideous one commands. Ravana bows, then gives a harsh order as a few guards shove Lloyd up the steps. My son. He's hardly recognizable: his hair cut short, feet dragging with the weight of thick shackles. They force him to his knees in front of their leader. He carefully observes Lloyd, musing quietly to himself.

"Execute him," He tells Ravana, his voice cold and flat. "Make it slow. Make it painful. And I need the heart. Oh, and I also need my . . . _entertainment_."

Harumi giggles then bursts out singing,

 _"Spider's in the house sleep sleep,  
_ _Spider bit the mouse sleep deep...  
_ _Don't wake up or else you'll  
_ _Find a spider in your mouth.."_

Her leader claps his hands while Natalie presents some sort of blade to Ravana. She raises it, and Lloyd shrinks away. She lights the blade dark purple, then plunges it into Lloyd's chest. He chokes and spasms. I cover my ears to try not to hear his scream.

Her blade comes out, and she bows as she presents to him Lloyd's heart that's glowing with ghastly purple light. I look back at him, slumped over the steps, his blood pooling onto the rocks below. _It's not real it's not real it's not real . . ._

I wake up with a shudder and find myself on the bed.

"What happened?" Zane asks. "That seemed like an intense nightmare,"

"Have the others left yet?" I ask, fearing the worst.

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"Natalie . . . she's working for them . . ." I choke as I remember Lloyd's face, an eternal scream of pain etched on it.

"We must warn the others!" Misako shouts. She frantically speaks into her earpiece.

I curl up and sob. I don't want Lloyd to die...

Misako sighs disheartenedly. "I can't tell them..."

"What do you mean?!" I sobbed.

"The airways...they're blocked..."

"Ravana..." I mutter. I hold Misako close to me as I look down the lane of boards on the ground. " _Lloyd..._ " _Why must destiny always have to tear us apart...? I just can't understand..._

* * *

"THAT CREEPY PRINCESS IS STILL AROUND?" Jay asks.

"Of course," she says. "She's my sister–"

"What?!" Kai asks. "How much more confusing does this need to get?"

I can't help but cry. She's with them...AND she's Rumi's sister?!

"You never had it in you, didn't you?" She says. "You always needed your friends as bodyguards . . . how miserable. My father would love to kill you again."

"WAIT A MINUTE . . . your evil dad's the Overlord?!" Jay asks. "I blame Cloud Kingdom for all of this! You said you didn't take sides!" He looks and sounds a bit ridiculous as he yells at the sky.

"And Ravana's the oldest."

"WHAT?!"

"You sure are the chatterbox. Quite annoying, wouldn't you agree?" She grins. A ball of purple flames fume in her hand. Suddenly Jay is yanked off the ground by an unseen force and gets plunged into the swamp.

"That should stop him from causing disruptions," she says.

"So your dad killed Rumi's parents pretty much..." Lloyd sighed.

"They weren't her parents to begin with." She tossed her hair with her hand.

Harumi smiled evilly. "It was a setup. The damsel in distress... _always works, doesn't it..._ "

Everything reminded me of that one conversation I had on the bounty with my father. 'Because I was bitten...evil runs through my veins...'

I curl up, wanting to give up, but I knew that a ninja never quits. _Father, help me..._ That's when I remember that my father was in a coma. I hope he's ok, but he'll be so worried about us. Kai already tried to communicate with Misako about a dozen times, but every time he just gets a burst of static on the other end. I'm scared...

Then I see Kai's hand crawling toward his pocket. He takes out a sharp rock behind his back and quietly sets it on fire. He waits until Harumi turns away from him, then throws it at her. She yelps as it hits her between the shoulder blades and loses her focus on Jay, who flies out of the swamp.

"I didn't pack a change of clothes!" He frowns as he looks down at his sopping robes.

Rumi starts singing:

 _"Spider's in the house sleep sleep,  
_ _Spider bit the mouse sleep deep...  
_ _Don't wake up or else you'll  
_ _Find a spider in your mouth..."_

I can't take it. My back feels like it's itching and burning.

The three sisters circle the cage and sing more. I tense as the Oni Temple comes into view. I don't really understand why they would want to come here, because it's obvious that the crystal's not here. My blood runs cold as I imagine how the others are doing. I feel a telepathic message from my father. _I'm scared...I love you, Lloyd..._ Our connection is abruptly cut off.

We stop in front of the very platform that Harumi had been standing before to bring back my father. Natalie blows a cloud of dark magic over it and a small portal opens.

"Do you have the boy?" A deep voice asks. It sounds like it's coming from the portal.

"Yes," Ravana bows.

"Leave my family alone!" I scream.

"About that . . ." Natalie says. "They have a welcoming party."

Just then, another portal appears, and I see everyone else, also in a cage except for the dim outlines of Zane and Pixal, who are fleeing into the woods.

"Father..." I whisper.

"Your father can't help you now . . ." Harumi says. Her eyes flick to Kai and Jay, and she motions to Ravana. She unsheathes a blade and runs it along the side along my neck. I clench my teeth.

"Lloyd!" Kai yells. Jay pulls Kai and dives out of the way before another cage slams on top of them.

"Go! Save yourself!" I gasp at them.

"I'm not leaving you!" Kai yells.

"If you don't, we'll all get caught!" I tell him.

Jay starts pulling Kai as the other four ninja run toward the exit, dodging blasts of dark magic.

"Let them run," Natalie says. "They're no use to us now that we have _him_ ,"

"Bring out the prisoner!" Harumi says.

Two guards bring out . . . my father. I gasp. " _FATHER!_ " I sob, clutching onto the bars of the cage, my knuckles turning white. " _THIS WAS ALL MY FAULT... I'M SO SORRY..._ "

"Don't blame yourself," he advises.

Ravana blows purple flames on two different altars. Our cages are placed in front of separate altars.

"Since you are related to the First Spinjitzu Master, you must have Oni and Dragon in you," Natalie says. "But the Oni side has always been buried, longing for a chance to show itself . . ."

Ravana lights a purple orb over the altar, then connects it to me. I feel something that's buried within. It's emerging. An evil presence. I grit my teeth and fight the presence. It's hungry, gnawing at my conscience. I turn my head to see what my father's altar is doing. I stifle a scream when I see his eyes change to a dark, blazing purple, his robes turning dark. _No! I can't bear to lose you again . . ._ I lose focus over my own altar and the Oni side erupts. I lose control over myself and slump over in my cage. It's hopeless now...

"I'm back, Ninjago! Mwhahahahhahahh!"


	13. Comfort From an Unexpected Place

Jay and I run into the thick foliage , not knowing where to go. Jay's half-dragging me. I'm kind of stunned. We shouldn't have left Lloyd there. I hear a faint scream in the distance. " _FATHER, NOOOOOOOO!_ "

"That's him!" I cry. "We have to go back and help save them!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! We're going to get ourselves killed like that!"

I hear a low sinister cackle. _Garmadon._ Oh no. I think he got turned evil. _Again_. It must be _very hard_ on Lloyd.

"Should we go back to the monastery?" Jay suggests.

"Sure, but how?" I ask. "The Destiny's Shadow went down somewhere and now we have no idea where it is."

"Why don't we use our dragons?"

"Wouldn't that attract too much attention?"

"I can summon a motorbike or something."

"Won't that take forever to get there?"

Then I hear footsteps running. I gasp. "Zane! Pixal! Cole!"

"You're here too?!" Jay exclaims.

"Where's Lloyd?" Zane asks.

"They took them. AND THEY TURNED SENSEI GARMADON EVIL AGAIN!" Jay overreacted. "Like, four arms and all!"

"We have some bad news . . . they took Wu and Misako. And now the Monastery's gone!"

* * *

I can't believe it! My father is evil again! Harumi unlocks the cage and lets me out.

"KILL HIM!" She tells my father. I stare at him in shock. _Father . . . I can't lose you again . . ._ I remember when he almost killed me in Kryptarium Prison. At least there are no TV's here for anyone to broadcast.

He unsheathes four black katanas, one in each arm. He somehow got weapons during the transformation. I take out my sword. _I don't want to hurt you..._ I try my hardest to not hold back tears.

He doesn't give me a choice. Ravana smiles approvingly at Harumi. They seem quite entertained, which sickens me.

"Father, fight back!" I urge. "Please! _FOR ME!_ "

He growls and attacks. My sword clashes with his four katanas, and I do Spinjitzu to disarm him. Purple flames burst to life in his hands as he runs toward me.

" _PLEASE, FATHER!_ " There's nothing. Nothing left. It's devastating...but I force myself to push through.

* * *

The aching feeling in Garmadon's heart just won't go away. It's a mental battle in there... The good part of him is entrapped and can't reach out to just care at least once.

" _FATHER, I CAN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!_ "

 _I can't do anything about this, Son... I don't want to hurt you...but my evil side took over and I have no other choice... I'm being tormented to no end...it hurts to see you like this... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!_

Garmadon pitches fireballs at Lloyd, driving him further back toward the wall. Lloyd backflips off of it and rolls under another fireball.

He growls softly. "You are _not_ my son any more."

"..." Lloyd staggers back at these words...overwhelmed... He remembers when his father said those things to him in their previous fight. He remembers what Rumi had told him about nothing being more powerful than his heart being broken.

Garmadon blasts him against the wall. Lloyd gasps and clutches his chest, then slides between his legs. His father prepares to take the final blow. Then he stops.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ravana demands.

"I'm sorry..." Garmadon sighs, helping Lloyd up to his feet. "I can't fight him..."

Ravana jumps to her feet, tossing a half-finished bucket of popcorn on Harumi's head. "TRAITOR! IMPRISON THEM BOTH!"

Guards rush from both sides of the temple.

"Father!" Lloyd cries as he tries to fight their grip.

* * *

I wake up in a room with my father. "D-Dad...what happened..."

"I couldn't hurt you, Lloyd... I needed to do something..." He wraps his four arms around my back. "At least I didn't... _fatally_ harm you..."

"Yeah... I still can't believe you're... _like this..._ "

"I know..." my father speaks softly. "It's heartbreaking isn't it?"

I cry into his chest and nod. "Don't leave me again... This was all my fault..."

"Lloyd..." Dad strokes my hair with one of his hands. "You mustn't blame yourself...it'll only make it worse..."

"Father...how are we going to get out?" I ask.

He sighs. "I don't know, my son... Our powers are useless."

We're in a room that made out of solid chronosteel. There's no windows and no door in sight. It's like being stuck in a sealed box.

I tense. "I'm so scared, Dad..."

"I know..." He holds me even tighter.

I hear the sharp echoing of footsteps approaching. A rectangular panel in the wall slides open. The room is flooded with fluorescent lights, and it's blinding after being imprisoned in utter darkness for two days. I bury my face into my father's chest even more. Guards drag me and my father in seperate directions. I cry out to him but they cover my mouth so I can't talk.

I wake up in a different cell. Thick shackles attached to the walls bind my wrists and ankles. I don't see my father anywhere, and I'm absolutely horrified. I don't want to die... Ravana enters the room. She has a staff with her, it's end glowing with purple energy. I notice her eyes flick toward two slits in the wall. Some purple energy comes out from the slits and crawl along the chains of my handcuffs. I eye it nervously.

The tendrils of energy curl around my wrists and I scream. Ravana grins in pleasure. She touches the staff to my neck and the pain on my wrists lessens. It becomes numb, a sort of icy relief.

"Now, tell me where the rest of your friends are . . ." She says. "Or . . ." Two guards drag my father into my room. I try to lunge forward but end up hurting my wrists.

"D-Don't worry about me," He says. "You're the one who needs to be saved . . . _I love you..._ "

"So where are they?" She demands, releasing her staff.

I grit my teeth and say "the monastery."

A sudden anger overshadows her face. "That place is already burnt to the ground," she says.

"Th-The city . . ." I say and almost faint. She touches the tip of her staff to my neck again, her eyes dark.

"I know you're lying," she hisses in a gutteral tone. She takes out a blade, turning it over in her hands, and presses an end to my cheek. It's thin and sharp, lethal. "Oops . . . . wrong side," she scolds herself, then flips it over and cuts a deep gash in my cheek. I look away, not wanting to see my father's face.

She asks more questions concerning the ninja, but I refuse to answer. Eventually, she just glares at me in an infuriated yet disappointed way. I'm almost blacking out from the pain and whimper softly under my breath. The purple stuff recedes back into the slits. Ravana storms off, cursing under her breath.

* * *

I drift in and out of consciousness for a day or two. My father wakes me up.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" he asks concerningly. He looks at the gash on my cheek, then my raw bloodied wrists and gasps, pulling me close. " _Oh my gosh..._ "

I whimper softly and curl up into his arms. He strokes my hair, rocking me back and forth like he did when I was a child.

 _My friends will come for me . . ._ I think to myself.

"Lloyd, I'm so worried..." He strokes my cheek very lightly and I wince in pain. "Oh, sorry..."

"Ow...careful..." I mutter. I bite my lip as I heal it. " _Ow, ow, OOOWWW!_ " I can't take it anymore and cry out in pain. Eventually it's finished healing, and I'm shaking uncontrollably.

"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon..." Father cooes empathetically, stroking me, comforting me. "I'm right here... _right here..._ " I curl up into his soft embrace, the sound of my father's endearing words relaxing me greatly. I never want to let go...

I fall asleep at last.

I'm jerked awake the next day when I see Ravana standing at the door of our cell, her lips curled upward in a slight smile. It doesn't seem like good news for us. She yells at some guards and they drag my father away. I want to scream but she gags me and leads me down a separate corridor.

"As for you . . . we have some _special_ treatment," she says. Ravana opens a door and a blast of unnatural air hits me. It has some sort of metallic tang in it and I see a ton of wired circuits and control panels on the sides. Some nerdy-looking guards promptly await Ravana's orders. A wave of fear washes over me as I see the complicated tube in the middle. It has tons of wires and mechanisms attached to it.

She takes off the handcuffs and shoves me into the tube. It reminds me of when I had my powers stripped . . . only worse. She motions to the guards and they start pressing buttons. The tube starts glowing dark purple and compacts. I push against it only to realize that it's transparent Chronosteel. I see Ravana laugh as the sides close in.

It's getting harder to breathe and the temperature is also decreasing significantly.

"That's it . . . don't try to fight it," she muses.

I feel a wrenching sensation as the material starts to corrupt my brain. I think Ravana meant that fighting it only makes it worse. I feel my eyes flickering between green and purple and clench my teeth. It's like being possessed, but in a slower way.

Ravana walks out of the room. I'm left alone. I try to clear my head but the pressure is so great that it gets hard to even think straight. A single circuit near the top catches my eye. It's not Chronosteel. Maybe if I disable it, it could stop the machine. I start summoning an energy ball but get so dizzy that it just flickers out. I concentrate harder and finally manage to create one about the size of my fist. I pitch it at the top, towards the wire. It snaps, and the machine compacts even more. I feel one of my ribs crack. Then, it loosens up.

I take a large gulp of air and see the stunned guards. One of them presses a button that sends off an alarm while the rest rush toward me with their blasters. The bullets deflect off the Chronosteel wall and I create a force field to avoid being hit. I dodge one of their blows and kick the dagger out of his hand. I catch another and throw it. It hits the nearest one between the eyes. He falls straight backwards onto another. The soldiers suddenly loosen up. I look over my shoulder, but it's too late. Two blasts of dark magic hit me: one on the shoulder and another on my side. I black out as Ravana pins me to the ground and locks me in a choke hold.

I wake up in the same old cell. My father is not in here. I begin to worry about what they're probably doing to him, but at that moment he's thrown into the cell and the door slams shut.

"Father!" I try to reach him but my handcuffs keep me from it.

"Lloyd . . ." he says. "Are you okay?" He puts an arm around my shoulder as I heal the worst of his wounds.

"W-What happened?" I ask him.

"They whipped me...it hurt..." Father replies.

After a moment I finish healing him. "I was so scared..." I collapse into his arms and cry.

"Oh, Lloyd..." he murmurs, stroking my hair. "I'm sorry you feel so bad... I'm right here, alright?"

I nod weakly, letting my breathing slow. "I love you so much... How are we ever going to get out of here?"

"You must have faith in your friends," he says. "I...I'm worried for you...you've been through too much..."

"Don't leave me..." I whisper.

"Shhh... Calm down..." Father consoles. "I'll be here with you always...no matter what form I take, I will always love you unconditionally."

I let tears fall, unable to contain it any longer. He holds me even closer, humming softly until I eventually fall asleep.

"Goodnight, my child..."


	14. Rescue Mission

"Where did they bring Wu, Lloyd, Garmadon, and Misako?" Kai asks.

"I am tracking their beacon based on the earpieces that they still have equipped," Zane says. "It appears that they are at a heavily fortified base hidden about twenty point sixty eight miles from the Temple of Resurrection."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's head out!" I say excitedly.

"But how are we supposed to get there?" Jay asks. "Dragons attract too much attention!"

I smile. "Awhile ago, I installed a cloaking device on the Bounty! We can use that!" I press a few buttons and the Bounty's exterior morphs into the design of Ravana's warship.

"This thing is so . . . ugly!" Jay says, looking on the outside.

"We need to keep our guard up," Kai says. "After we arrive, how are we going to infiltrate the place?"

I hear his phone vibrate. Kai picks it up, smiling as he looks at the caller ID. It's Skylor. He talks with her for a moment and then puts the phone on speaker mode.

 _"Hey guys!"_ She says. _"I have a younger sister and I gave her ownership of the noodle shop, so I can join you guys now! Heh, she's better at businesses than I am."_

"Cool!" I tell her. "Well, we're trying to break Lloyd out. We'll meet you in New Ninjago City."

 _"Sure thing! I gotta go drop off some Puffy Potstickers at Dareth's place. See you later!"_

"Bye!" Kai replies, hanging up.

I set the course to New Ninjago City and turn off the cloaking device to not make the citizens fear of an attack. "We'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Great!" Kai exclaims.

"Come on guys! I see the Borg Tower! We're here!" Jay yells after some time.

I park on the helipad of the NGTV office building. We use our dragons to fly down to the noodle shop.

* * *

"Hey Sky!" I smile at her.

She grins and we embrace quickly before she turns her eyes to the Bounty. "Woah! Nice makeover!"

"Yeah!" Nya smiles. "We're a great team, right Bro?"

I smile back at my little sister and nod. But we needed to save Lloyd as soon as possible. "Yeah. But Lloyd and his family are in serious danger. We need to get him back." I felt anger start to boil within me at the thought of my best friend being hurt.

"Kai, calm down." Nya whispers softly to me.

"Right..." I take a deep breath. I was glad to have her here with me. "We should go. There's no time to lose."

"Can I come?" Dareth runs over to us.

"..." I don't respond for a moment. "I think we've got this."

"But you'll need all the help possible! And I'm the Brown Ninja!" He says, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well you're not going to help us," Jay says, then summons his dragon and flies back up to the Bounty. The rest of us follow, leaving Dareth behind. He's wailing and yelling for a brown dragon but he just looks like a ridiculous madman. I can't help but laugh a little bit.

We arrive at the Bounty and get to our positions.

"How long will it take for us to get there?" I ask Pixal.

"At top speed, we can get there in fourteen point nine minutes," Pixal says.

"Let's suit up," My sister says, then turns on the cloaking device after we fly out of the city. We empty the dojo of weapons and load the cannons.

We're hovering over some sort of base a few minutes later.

"So how are we going to get in without being caught?" Cole asks.

"I detect a force field surrounding the area," Pixal says.

"How are we supposed to get past it?" Skylor asks.

"I know!" My sister says. She runs into Misako's room and returns with a round yellow gem. "This is called the Xitharis stone. It can help you get past the forcefield and all of their defenses, but you only have thirty minutes before time runs out. We must use it wisely. To activate it, you must squeeze it over your heart."

"I will set a virtual stopwatch to keep track of our time," Zane says. We exchange the stone around. I look down, and now I can't see my body.

"It's weird being invisible," I say.

"Good luck!" Says Pixal as she steers the warship up over the base.

We edge our way into the base. It's a labyrinth of tunnels and ledges. I point to Zane to lead. He displays a virtual map of the place. I see Lloyd and Garmadon's beacon, slightly moving in one of the rooms.

"They are quite far from the exit," Zane notices. "Clever."

We edge along a narrow ledge toward the beacon, with Zane frequently reminding us of the time.

"We'll need keys to rescue them, right?" Skylor says. "Where are they?"

"Ravana has them on her," Zane says. He points as he sees her walking on a ledge above us.

"How are we going to get them from her without being noticed? This place is swarming with guards!" Jay says.

"Perhaps I can help," Skylor says. "Is Harumi in this place?" Zane searches for her, then shakes his head.

"Perfect," she says. "I'll transform into her and take her out," she tells us, transforming into Harumi. "The rest of you, meet me at the cell."

"Good luck," I say.

We carefully make our way toward the beacon. I see Skylor talking to Ravana on the upper ledge. I sigh in relief as she gets the keys from her, knocking her out with a green mist. She then disappears into a patch of shadows.

"Hurry!" Zane says. "We have fourteen minutes left and we still need to get out after rescuing them!" We stop abruptly.

"What's the matter?" Jay asks.

"Defenses," Zane says. "We must be careful."

"It's kind of like Kryptarium Prison," I observe. "Only a lot worse."

"Time to go Ninja-style!" Cole says quietly.

I kick off the wall and dodge a series of purple laser beams. We duck as a giant ram comes swinging toward us, then do airjitzu over a series of viciously spiked steel girders that are rotating.

We arrive at a rectangular panel in front of a wall. It's solid Chronosteel. There's a single keyhole toward the right. Nya inserts the key and twists. The door is unlocked. All I see is utter darkness. I can't imagine what it's like to be trapped in this darkness for days on end. I light a fire in my fist as Cole runs over to free Lloyd, who is unconscious and has a very faint scar on his cheek.

I hear a low murmur. "Thank you..." The voice belongs to Garmadon.

"Quick! We only have nine minutes left!" Zane whispers. Garmadon carries Lloyd as we make our way toward the exit.

"W-What's happening?" Lloyd murmurs and he groggily looks up. That's when the alarm goes off. It's a piercing sound that's ten times worse than the alarm clock that's programmed into Zane's system. Tons of soldiers crowd the hallway. With all of their guns and screams, it's a sensory overload.

"We need to get out of here!" Jay whispers. "We still have some time!"

The soldiers don't see anything, but there are so much of then that we're bound to crash into one at some point. Jay runs straight into one, but he's in such a rush that the soldier just gets trampled. I snatch one of the cylindrical-like guns from one of the soldiers and press the trigger. The soldier in front of me gets hit and goes down. I press the trigger until there are no more bullets.

"Watch out!" Cole shouts. I see Ravana walking toward our position. Her face is a mask of fury and a black cape fans out behind her.

"That way!" Skylor points to a ledge up above. She shoots a poison cloud at Ravana, and she dodges. She grabs a gun and shoots at us. Can she see us? The bullet is shooting right toward Lloyd.

"No!" Garmadon yells. It's too late to throw up a force field, so he shoves Lloyd into my arms and the bullet hits him in the arm. Zane puts a hand over his mouth to quiet his screams.

"We have two and a half minutes left!" He panics.

I duck under more of Ravana's fireballs. She speaks into her earpiece. "She's calling for backup!" I warn. "We need to get out before they come!"

"Looks like that's not an option!" Jay whispers as a horde of soldiers charge into view. I duck under several and throw up a fiery shield to prevent Lloyd and Garmadon from being hit. Lloyd finally gains a sense of what's happening.

"Father!" He whispers and stares at the bullet wound in Garmadon's arm.

"Sshh . . ." He says. "You need to save your strength."

Zane freezes half of the soldiers, but a blast of Ravana's purple fire melts the ice. She takes out a small black gadget and presses a button. The effect is immediate. Lloyd collapses into Garmadon's arms, clutching at the place where he was shot with a dart.

We sprint toward a thin shaft of light coming from above. "Lloyd! Can you still do Airjitzu?" Garmadon asks. The hole is about twenty feet above us, and the soldiers are coming fast.

"I . . ." He gasps. He's in almost too much pain to talk.

Jay goes first, then Nya. Cole, being the strongest, carries Lloyd in his arms and flies out. Garmadon rides in my cyclone and Zane comes last. The moment we emerge, the Xitharis wears off, and we become visible. I see several warships hovering above.

"How do we know which warship is the Bounty?" Jay asks. "They all look the same!"

Zane carefully scans all of the ships. "That one!" He points at the ship on the very left. We do airjitzu into a nearby tree, hiding from the soldiers' sight. "I'm getting a message from Pixal. She says to . . ." A blast knocks down the tree, and we run behind some more.

"I have another idea," Skylor says. She looks toward a narrow rocky slope below.

"We can't get down there!" Jay cries. "We'll fall to our deaths!"

"How about a slide?" Skylor suggests. She and Nya create enough water for Zane to freeze into a slide.

"Hang on . . ." Garmadon whispers to Lloyd. We jump and slide down the ramp into the gorge, landing on the ground.

"What about Wu and Misako?" Cole asks. "Where are they?"

I look at Garmadon, who's holding Lloyd closely against his chest. Lloyd seems distressed quite a bit.

"Quiet. I am receiving a message from them." Pixal says. They are forty-three degrees south of here."

"How will we escape?" Jay asks.

"I have some other tricks up my sleeve," Nya says. She turns the Bounty into a thin, needle-like vessel. "Come on!"

We get into the ship as Pixal directs Nya to Wu and Misako's coordinates. Eventually we find them. Lloyd's mother and uncle sigh in relief as we arrive, they get on quickly, and as we fly out into the distance, I hear Ravana faintly shouting.

" _CURSE YOU, NINJA!_ "

* * *

An hour passes. I'm much stronger now than when the others freed me. Something consumes my mind and I lock myself in an empty room and start to sob. I can't take it... The memories begin to flood through... Ravana torturing me, getting captured so many times, getting possessed, being abandoned, and Father turning evil, dying, and getting hit by Ravana's bullet. I feel like my family is cursed.

"Lloyd?" My father asks. "Can I come in?"

"No." I reply coldly, turning away from the door.

"Please, Lloyd. We need to talk." Father tries to reason with me.

"I said NO!" I scream, crying louder. "Leave me alone! I wish you weren't my father!"

" _Lloyd._ " My father raises his voice. " _You don't really mean it, do you?_ "

"I SAID _GO AWAY!_ " I take off and throw the necklace that he had given to me when I was born against the wall. It slides under the door, and I continue to cry softly.

* * *

I watch the golden necklace come under the door, I pick it up, clutching it close to me and I sob. I just don't ever want to lose him... I don't know what's going on with him at the moment, but his words struck me deep...they tormented me to no end... I don't want a rift to form between us... I love him unconditionally... I remember when he loved me dearly...so much so that he just didn't want to fight. I take a deep breath and slowly calm down.

Moments pass... I hear Lloyd's cries slowly fade away. I sigh softly, knocking on the door again. "Are you alright in there..."

" _I'm sorry..._ " I hear Lloyd softly whisper. " _I don't wanna be aloooone..._ "

I concentrate, using my powers to unlock the door. I come in and sit down beside him. I notice his eyes have turned a dark red.

"Oh, Son..." I murmur, holding him close. "I'm right here...it's okay...don't be upset..."

"I'm sorry..." Lloyd tells me. "Stupid Oni..." he quietly growls. "I never deserved any of this... _I never wanted to be the Green Ninja in the first place!_ "

"Lloyd," I sigh, pulling away, brushing aside his hair. I caress his cheek. "You mustn't run from destiny. I know it's hard. I'll help you through this. It's the least I can do. I love you so dearly...it hurts seeing you like this." Lloyd collapses into my arms again. "Come on, now," I tell him. "We have some important news to discuss."

* * *

I follow him into the main room. It's in bad shape. After the monastery burned down, we haven't exactly had time to fully repair it. There are still random pieces of wood and steel in places, the sound of raindrops leaking through the roof, and the occasional sound of plaster falling from the ceiling.

Misako has laid out her scrolls on the table, the other ninja crowding around to look. I notice the three Oni Masks shooting a beam of purple light that connects to my father.

"The three Oni masks could revive Garmadon . . ." I hear my mother say. "But there are three other masks here."

"What even are they?" Jay asks.

"The Oni and the Dragon have always been opposite of each other," Nya says. The three other masks are shooting a beam of gold light toward a figure that looks like Master Wu. And then there are six more beams of light, from both sets of masks, shooting a swirl of gold and purple at another person as well.

"So you're saying that those other ones are . . . Dragon masks?" Jay asks. "Sounds weird."

"And if they are as rare as Oni masks, it's sure going to be hard to get," Cole says. "And who do they bring back anyway?"

"All six masks will have to be used for the ritual, but I believe it's the First Spinjitzu Master."


	15. Return of an Ancient Evil

"Father..." I hear Dad whisper to himself. I put a hand on his shoulder and he smiles back at me.

"OH MY GOD," Jay says. "If we get him on our side, _we're gonna be unstoppable!_ " He says.

"But if they know we're after them, they're not going to let us revive him. It can only be done at the Temple of Resurrection, and that place is under their control and heavily guarded," My father says. "We do not even know where any of the masks are."

I turn to Father, my eyes filling with fear at the possibility of being captured again. He notices my distress and holds me against him.

"I'm right here..." he whispers, stroking my hair.

I close my eyes and slowly relax. "Thanks, Father..."

"Of course," he replies. "Anything for you, Lloyd... Anyways, we should learn more about the masks. It's important."

"Right..." I smile softly.

"You okay there?" Kai asks.

I nod in reply. "Just a little overwhelmed."

Dad squeezes my shoulder, and Mom smiles empathetically at me. She continues to explain more about the Dragon masks. There are three of them. One bronze, one silver, and one gold.

"The bronze one is first, right? I mean, it makes sense . . ." Jay wonders to himself.

"You're right," Misako says. "It's on the Island of Darkness."

"I haven't been there in so long..." My father sighed. "Last time...it was when I'd thought you'd..." He embraces me close, unable to finish.

We figure out where the first mask is, in the mines, and we all go our separate ways. I decide to spend this moment with Father.

I gaze out into the distance. The view from the Bounty is beautiful. I sigh, remembering when the Overlord had possessed Dad and caused Ninjago to turn dark and gloomy. Two pieces of paper fly onto the deck. One was the picture of me and my father that I had let go of after his corrupted form nearly killed me during our Kryptarium battle. It broke me...so much. The other was of my mom, dad, and uncle when they were much younger. I remembered Wu holding the latter of the two, and I hand it back to him. Wu smiles gratefully. I return with the other picture in my hand, and I sit down, my back against the railing of the vessel.

My thoughts are interrupted by Dad, who had come to sit down beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "My dearest, are you alright?"

I show him the picture, and we both get emotional over it. It's been so long since we'd last seen each other. "I don't wanna lose you..." I sigh and embrace him.

"I'm never leaving your side again, Lloyd." He speaks softly, his emotions clear in his voice. Neither of us care. "It's going to be alright..."

I smile sadly. "I love you, my most esteemed father."

"I love you too, my son..." Garmadon smiles back, tears streaming down his face in overwhelming relief. "I'm glad you're here..."

"Me too..."

"So are we going to take the Bounty there?" Jay asks when we walk back into the main room. "Wasn't it like nearly impossible to hide the thing last time? And now it will stand out even more with it's armor!"

"Have you forgotten that I have installed something called a _cloaking device_?" Nya asks him.

"Oh. Right," Jay looks sheepishly at Nya.

"We should probably head out soon. Ravana might be hot on our trail since she saw us rescue you and your father," Skylor adds, turning to me.

"But our security cameras have not picked up any sign of foreigners," Pixal says. "We've already reviewed all the footage."

"Do they know about these masks?" Cole asks.

"No, but our presence on the dark island must stay unknown to them." Misako says. "We will leave at dawn."

I notice my father has gone outside, looking out into the distance. "Are you alright?" I ask him.

"Yes, it's just...what I did on the island...I feel so guilty...even now. I feel it's never going to be the same again."

"Father, I've forgiven you. We'll get through this." I embrace him.

"Mmm..." Dad hums, stroking my hair. I smile in response. "I'm glad I'm here... I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

I'm crouching in front of his altar. I brew some black ink and mix it with powder, then pour it into the small hole in front. His spirit reacts. A slow, predatory hiss emerges from the portal. He is unable to cross over and become flesh, but he doesn't need to.

"Ravana...Harumi...Novare... How I've missed you all..." Father says, his low voice cracking slightly in overwhelming emotion.

I smile softly. "I've missed you too... Also, I'm ready," I say into the portal.

"Good . . ." He hisses.

It's a ceremony. Nobody is allowed in except for my sisters, who stand by the door. The room is only lit by flaming purple torches.

His spirit gives a heave, then blows through the portal into me. I let him. He takes over my mind, and I see my sisters watching in apprehension. Harumi holds a mask in each hand, and Nova has the other. They place the masks in position. Harumi takes a tiny vial of Garmadon's powers and pours it into the hole. The masks begin to glow and the portal fumes. Eventually, he has his own body back. My sisters and I embrace him, then step away.

His presence alone is staggering. He's at least twice as tall as any of us and his eyes are dark, piercing, and show no emotion now.

I notice Harumi. She's kneeling, her face in her hands, turned away from me. Something seems to be upsetting her. I can't understand...

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"You know, Father," she says. "After I betrayed the green one . . . I still have feelings for him . . ."

I'm taken aback. She loves _him?_ "You must not let your feelings cloud your judgement," I tell her. "You know as well as I that you are loyal to me."

"I know, but . . ." she says.

"Now come," I tell them. "We have work to do. I sense the Ninja are coming. We must prepare for their arrival. Step up all defenses. Nobody is allowed to set foot here unless they have permission."

"I will see to that," Ravana says. She speaks into her earpiece. The island transforms into a fortress. The surrounding ocean is mined, and the coast is littered with hidden cameras, traps, and barbed wire.

I smile evilly. "Now... _No one can stand in our way._ "


End file.
